Free Things to Do in NYC

Visiting New York City will quickly burn a hole in your wallet. Even budget hotels are extremely expensive in comparison to most cities around the world. Enduring Wanderlust has compiled a multitude of quality activities throughout the city that will allow visitors to have an enjoyable experience without having to shorten their trip because of a lack of funds.

Numerous popular television shows are filmed in the city. These include David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Rachel Ray, The Colbert Report, The Daily Show, Regis and Kelly Live and many more. Tickets to the shows are gratis for attendees. For free tickets, go to the show websites.

Club Free Time does an excellent job of listing free happenings in the city. These events range from art classes and concerts to site tours and book readings.

Concerts (Mostly Summer) are held throughout out the city. The free shows range from the New York Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Opera to Jazzfest.

Summer Stage (Central Park) offers several months filled with free performances. Watch for their new schedule about a month before the summer starts.

The Bronx Zoo (Wednesdays) is a perfect place to spend an afternoon. It has a wide range of wildlife along with plenty of activities for the whole family. Be sure to watch the feeding of the sea lions.

Free kayaking is available at the NYC Downtown Boathouse. You will be supplied with a kayak, life jacket, paddle, and some tips on paddling.

The Greenwich Village Halloween Parade is a fun and free place to show off your costumes.

On the move

The Staten Island Ferry provides free rides between Manhattan and Staten Island. From the deck of the ferry passengers have a view of The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

RightRides provides free rides home for women on Saturday nights within a select area of New York City.

___________________________________________________________________________________Gennaro Salamone is the founder and editor of Enduring Wanderlust. Feel free to contact him with questions, comments, or inquiries with reference to contributing an article or photograph for publication.

I’ve never been to NYC, but I want to go. Reading your list reminds me that having fun on a vacation is all in your mindset. People who live there are probably used to the sights, sounds, and smells, but I could probably travel there, not spend a dime, and love every second of it… especially with your advice. Thanks a lot!

You know Genarro, whilst you list a lot of wonderful free things to do whilst in New York, I think if I were to visit I would be handicapped by two women who absolutely love to shop. I remember not long ago when we went to Sydney for a short holiday how the wife and daughter spent the majority of the time shopping and dragging my poor son and I with them. It’s like they had never seen a shop before. Still it was funny seeing all the despondent blokes who were all in the same predicament.

The polar bear’s sooooo beautiful and thank you for a description of the exciting places in New York! I am sure it’s hard to sieve out to just top 10 or 20 places to do in New York. Now the only question is….how to get to New York for free? heee

Ok, I know the MoMa and AMNH advertise that you can pay what you can, but when we went there, the cashiers don’t even give you the option. They just ring you up. I think my husband and I paid $20 USD per person, but at least our 2-year-old got in for free. So how do we do it? Do we just go up and tell the cashier that we choose to pay a voluntary amount instead?

They aren’t supposed to ring you up. The Met and AMNH are both suggested admission. Most pay the suggested, but it’s definitely not fixed. Students get a lower rate so it is odd for them to just assume and give a full rate. Lots of students, of all ages, go there. The Met does let kids until 12 in for free. AMNH’s suggested is $8.50. At least you didn’t get charged that.

I will be on NYC tomorrow and stay until the 6 morning I have one question and one propossal.
Q. I have heard that there are two museums that once you pay the first you can go to the other for free, so the question is which ones?
P. I want to know if there is a nice NYer that wants to show me something of this amazing dates, qive me a call, but just on these days!!

The museums that you are aking about are the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Cloisters. Both great. Be warned that they are very far apart though. MET is on the Upper East Side and the Cloisters are way up on the West Side (Fort Tryon Park).

I’d recommend checking out the couch surfing website if you want to meet up with New Yorkers. There is a search for have a cup of coffee.

I love this list — there are lots of free things to do in all the major cities — thanks for showing us NYC. I run a similar website in Chicago and the response has been overwhelming…..people are looking for free things to do in Chicago and New York and LA, etc as the economy softens. Keep up the good work!

Thanks for a great list of free things to do in New York City. I was just searching for things to do in NYC today with my kids and this was very helpful. Planning to go to the zoo this week in addition to the museums today.

Visiting New York City will quickly burn a hole in your wallet. Even budget hotels are extremely expensive in comparison to most cities around the world. Enduring Wanderlust has compiled a multitude of quality activities throughout the city that will a…

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